F 74 
.D7 D67 
Copy 1 







i^ ;*<.^*i.*t 






•»'- -.r.":!!::!i!*>^fcr*is!i* 



?^^«fe^-*«*' 




DEDICATION 



OF THE 



Sawin Memorial Building 



DOVER, MASSACHUSETTS 



Tuesday, May 14tk 

1907 



Printed by the 
Dover Historical and Natural History Society 

190 8 



Gift 

Publi»^ • 

^ Ag'OB 




BENJAMIN NELSON SAWIN 



FOREWORD 

At the regular quarterly nu'ctinu^ of the Dover Historical and 
Natural History Society, held on April 6, 1907, it was voted that 
a committee ot" three he appointed In tiie ihesident to arrange for 
the dedication ot" the Sawin Memorial Building. In accordance 
with this vote, the President appointed as a committee, with full 
power, Frank Smith, Charles .S. Bean and Mrs. Sarah A. 
Higgins. 

A letter of invitation was sent to the residents of Dover ; 
the Historical Societies in the adjoining towns ; the relatives of 
Mr. and Mrs. Sawin ; the executors of Mr. Sawin's will ; and 
to many former residents of the town ; inviting them to assemble 
in the Town Hall on Tuesday afternoon, May 14, for the 
purpose of dedicating the Sawin Memorial Building. 



INVITATION. 

THE DOVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

cordially invites you to attend the exercises at the dedication 

of its new building willed by the late Mr. and Mrs. Benj. N. 

Sawin, and by them named the "Sawin Memorial Building." 

The exercises will be held in the 

Town Hall, 

On Tuesday, May fourteenth, 

nineteen hundred and seven, at three o'clock p. m. 

A dedicatory address will be given by 

Frank Smith, Esq., 

of Dedham.with an original poem, 

instrumental music and addresses by invited guests. 

At the close of the exercises in the Town Hall the new 

building on Dedham Street will be open for inspection. 

GEORGE L. HOWE, 
President . 
MRS. SARAH A. HIGGINS, 
Secretary. 

3 



The following program was presented to an audience which 
completely filled the town hall. The President, George Luther 
Howe, presided. 

TRIO Violin, Miss Idalian Howard 

'Cello, Miss Hildegard M. Berthold 
Piano, Miss Lydia A. Higgins 

INVOCATION Rev. Walter L. French 

CONGREGATIONAL HYMN - - - Rev. Leonard Bacon 

Tune : Missionary Chant. 

O God, beneath thj guiding hand, 

Our exiled fathers crossed the sea ; 
And when th«y trod the wintry strand, 

With prayer and psalm they worshipped thee. 

Thou heards't, well-pleased, the song, the prayer — 

Thy blessing came; and still its power 
Shall onward through all ages bear 

The memory of that holy hour. 
Laws, freedom, truth, and faith in God 

Came with those exiles o'er the waves, 
And where their pilgrim feet have trod. 

The God they trusted guards their graves. 
And here thy name, O God of love, 

Their children's children shall adore; 
Till these eternal hills remove, 

And springs adorn the earth no more. 

DELIVERY OF THE KEYS IN BEHALF OF THE 

BUILDING COMMITTEE - - Mr. Eben Higgins 

ACCEPTANCE OF THE KEYS IN BEHALF OF THE 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY - - Mr. George L. Howe 

VIOLIN SOLO Miss Idalian Howard 

ADDRESS OF DEDICATION - - - Frank Smith, Esq_. 

ORIGINAL POEM . . . . Mr. Hubbard C. Packard 

DUET Miss Lydia A. Higgins 

Miss Hildegard M. Rkrthold 

PRESENTATION OF DANIEL WHITING'S COMMISSION 

AS A LIEUT.-COLONEL IN THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 

Don Glkason Hill, Esq_. 
4 



RECEPTION OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE DOVER 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY - - Mr. Jedkdiah W. Higgins 

TRIO Violin, Miss Idalian Howard 

'Cello, Miss Hildegard M. Bkrthold 

Piano, Miss Lydia A. Higgins 
ADDRESS - - Hon. John W. Weeks, Member of Congress 

ADDRESS - Mr. John F. Ayer, Sec'y Bay State Historical League 

CONGREGATIONAL HYMN America 

BENEDICTION Rev. Walter L. French 



The following committees were appointed : 

RECEPTION COMMITTEE 

Mrs. R. S. Minot Mr. Charles S. Bean 

Mrs. Alma S. Porter Mr. R. H. Bond 

Mrs. M. a. P. Everett Mr. C. W. Plimpton 

Mrs. Caroline M. Tisdale 

REFRESHMENT COMMITTEE 

Mrs. Inez M. Packard Miss Una Bean 

Miss Evalyn Bean 
USHERS 

Mr. George Munroe Mr. Lewis Roscoe 



DEDICATORY EXERCISES 

IN THE TOWN HALL. 



The President : The blessing of the God of our fathers will 
be invoked by the Rev. Walter Lyman French. 

INVOCATION 
By the Rev. Walter Lyman French. 

O, Thou infinite God in whom we live and move and have 
our being, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and 
offer unto Thee thanks for all thy goodness and mercy unto us. 
We most earnestly desire to please Thee in all things therefore 
we seek thy approval and blessing in all our undertakings. For 

5 



we believe that no worthy interest of life is beyond the range of 
thy care. 

We thank Thee for the heritage of our fathers, the noble 
achievements of the generations gone. We are reminded today 
that other men have labored and we have entered into their labors. 
This day we set apart a building that shall be sacred to the 
memories of the past ; a place in which may be preserved the 
records and mementos of other days ; a place where each gener- 
ation shall leave an index of its life, an impress of its spirit to 
teach all who come after that they are a part of all the ages, but 
we, who are the present, living link in the unbroken chain of 
human existence, desire so to live our lives, meet our obligations, 
and perform our work, that the record we leave shall be as 
imposing to those who are to follow us as have been to us the 
memories of our fathers. For this end we look unto Thee, the 
fountain of all life and the source of all strength for Divine help 
to vitalize our lives and make them efficient for good. 

Hear us in these our most humble petitions and grant unto 
us the favor of thy countenance. Amen. 



The President : The keys to the Sawin Memorial Building 
will now be presented by Mr. Eben Higgins. 

DELIVERY OF THE KEYS 
By Mr. Eben Higgins. 

Mr. President., Members and Friends of the Dover Histor- 
ical and Natural History Society : 

You are to be congratulated upon the attainment of a home 
for your organization. 

It was during the last years of his life that Mr. Benjamin 
N. Sawin made known to me (and I have learned since his death 
to some others) his desire to leave some of his property as a 
nucleus to erect a building for the Dover Historical Society, 
with which he had been identified since 1897. 

A man of retiring disposition and vei'y close-mouthed it is 
only since his death that in thinking over our conversations in 
the light of \\\% gift.^ that I have realized how much he meant in 

6 



the few words that he said, but he said always, at the close "You 
will know all about it sometime" and believing that at a future 
time he was intending to tell definitely what he was planning to 
do, I hesitated about asking questions that might seem to be 
prying into his affairs, confidently expecting that when he got 
ready he would unfold his ideas of his own accord, but death 
overtook him before it came. I was surprised when I learned 
that he and his wife had given all that they died possessed of 
(except a few small legacies) for a Memorial Building. There 
were conditions attached by which it has been made possible of 
fulfilment through the harmony in which his executors and the 
building committee, which he appointed, have worked together. 
Now as our duties are so far completed that the building can be 
taken possession of by the Society and it can be finished "within 
the two years of the administration" as called for by the will, it 
gives me great pleasure, Mr. President, to present to you, the 
President of the Dover Historical and Natural History Society, 
the Keys of the Saivin Memorial Building. 



ACCEPTANCE OF THE KEYS 
By Mr. George L. Howe. 

The President : It is with pleasure that I accept the keys* 
to a building which we dedicate to historical purposes, where 
the articles used in the domestic life of our fathers may be 
preserved for coming generations and where we may assemble 
to consider historical subjects. I want on this occasion to 
acknowledge the great debt of gratitude which we owe to you, 
the chairman of the building committee, for your labor and 
interest in the erection of this building. Had it not been for 
your patience, good judgment, and untiring effort, amid the 
peculiar difficulties which have attended the labors of this Com- 
mittee, the Sawin Memorial Building would not have been erected 
and then this Society would have failed to comply with the con- 
ditions of the bequest. In accepting these keys I assure you that 
the Dover Historical Society is proud of the building in which it 
is to be housed, and from which it is to carry on its work. 
♦Not stenographically reported. 

7 



The President : The address of dedication will be given 
by one who, while a resident of Dedham, is yet a native of 
Dover, Frank Smith, Esq. 

ADDRESS 

By Frank Smith, Esq,. 

J/r, President, Ladies and Gentlemen " 

The water gates at the World's Fair in Chicago, were 
dedicated to the brave men who leveled forests, cleared fields, 
made paths by land and water, and planted commonwealths ; 
and to the brave women, who in solitude, amid strange dangers 
and heavy toil, reared families and made homes. On this 
occasion, I want to picture to you, the lives of some who did 
similar work in the upbuilding of this little town. S© I am 
going to take one of these old homesteads, one of the old houses 
still standing, 

"Over whose threshold of oak and stone, 
Life and death have come and gone," 

and picture to you, the life that was lived there "through 
mingled joys and sorrow, labor and rest, adversity and success, 
and through the tender loves of childhood, maturity and age," 
as a type of the early homes that existed here, and which illus- 
trate the opportunity which comes to the Historical Society to 
preserve the history and traditions of family life. I shoidd 
naturally take for my purpose, the homes of the founders of this 
memorial, but this unfortunately is impossible, as neither family 
has been connected with the town for more than two generations. 
I have therefore selected for this purpose, the Chickering home- 
stead, and the old house, still standing, of Joseph Chickering 
(Glassett House), on Haven Street. 

We all know from our daily experiences, something of the 
joys and sorrows, which have been frequent guests in that old 
home. As I gaze upon that landscape, which has been familiar 
to those of one blood and name for more than two hundred years, 
and watch the shadows come and go, I am reminded of the 
experiences of those who have lived there, rich in human affection. 




THE JOSEPH CHICKERING HOUSE, THE SCENE OF 
THE COLONIAL LIFE DESCRIBED IN THE DEDICATORY ADDRESS 



I see the smile of welcome, and the tear at parting, which has 
so often followed each other, in the departed years. I see in 
imagination, first of all, the ancestral home of the Chickering 
family in Dover. I see Nathaniel Chickering, going forth from 
his home on Dedham Island, after King Philip's War, into the 
wilderness, some six miles westward, to establish a new home 
for his wife, Lydia Fisher Chickering, anil for his children. 
Here he commenced to fell the formidable forest around him. 
The time had been, when fields could not be cleared, or labor 
done with safety so far away from a settlement, owing to the 
presence of hostile Indians. I hear the echo of his axe as the 
sound strikes against Pegan Hill, and is rebounded across that 
stretch of meadow now crossed by Springdale Avenue, and 
where he cut without cultivation an abundance of grass for his 
increasing herds. I hear the click of the adze and the falling 
of the chips from the broad axe as the timbers of oak are hewn 
and framed in the building of that humble home. I still see 
the old well which, like those dug by the Patriarchs of old to 
quench the thirst of their flocks, still gives forth its water to 
satisfy the desires of man and beast. I see the sheep and the 
cattle quietly grazing together on that level plain, the enjoyment 
of which was sometimes disputed by the wolves. I see the much 
prized fruit trees, the apple, the pear, the quince, which had been 
carefully planted and tended around that early home. I see the 
corn waving in the breeze, and the fields of rye and barley, ready 
for the sickle, swayed by the summer wind. I see the fenced-in 
vegetable garden where the common vegetables of the age are 
grown alike for the home and the cattle. I see the flower garden, 
gay with colors and sweet with the perfume of shrubs and 
flowers, which loving wives and mothers originally brought from 
their faraway homes in Old England, to cheer and sustain them 
in their new homes in the wilderness of America, now cultivated 
by their descendants. 

As I gaze into that dim and shadowy past, I see the hay- 
gathered into stacks, the cattle and the sheep comfortably housed, 
the corn gathered into stooks, the rye and barley thrashed and 
winnowed by the autumn breeze, the apples gathered into cribs, 
the vegetables buried below the frost ; but the mind which 

9 



planned this, and the hand which has wrought this, is forever 
stilled, for in October, 1694, the spirit of Nathaniel Chickering 
took its flight. 

Again as I gaze into that dim and shadowy past, I see a 
mother with a baby of only five months in her arms, and eight 
small children around her knees, in that wilderness home, where 
occasionally the dark face of some wandering Indian is at night 
pressed against the window pane. What manner of woman is 
this, who alone in this wilderness is thus engaged in the labors 
of a pioneer settlement ? Search through the annals of New 
England and no braver or more courageous woman than Lydia 
Fisher Chickering, who has taken up this work where her hus- 
band laid it down, can be found, as the story of her life well 
shows. 

Owing to the revolt of the people of England, under the 
leadership of Cromwell, in 1648, Charles the First was beheaded 
by the decree of Judges, who believed that for his acts of unlaw- 
ful tyranny, he should be put to death. Later there was a change 
in sentiment among the people, and Charles the Second was 
placed upon the throne. Two of the Judges, Whalley and 
Goffe, who had pronounced against King Charles, left England 
before his son was proclaimed king, and made their residence in 
New England. They were honorably received by the most 
prominent men in New England who believed that a pardon 
would be granted them. Whalley was a brother-in-law of 
Cromwell, and one of his lieutenant-generals, while Goffe was 
Whalley's son-in-law, and a major-general in Cromwell's army. 
When it was found that owing to their prominence, the names of 
Whalley and Goffe were not found in the act of indemnity, it 
was no longer safe for them to remain at large in the colony. 
Warrants were issued and two young and zealous royalists 
undertook to apprehend them. They were sought for in the 
wilderness of America and traced from settlement to settlement, 
yet they were never betrayed by those in whom they had put their 
trust, although large rewards were offered for their apprehension. 
As Bushnell said, "The King's oflScers were active in the search 
but for some reason, the noon was as the night and their victims 
could not be found." 



In 1664 it was decided that the regicides should go to the home 
of the Rev. John Russell at Hadley, Mass., a home so remote 
that it was believed that they could there dwell in safety, but in 
later years they were even sought for in this house. Thither they 
made their way from New Haven, traveling by night, where 
they arrived in October, 1664. The room in which these refugees 
lived, as shown by the historian of Hadley, had secret access 
above and below, so that escape could be made in either direction. 
Here their uncooked food, their bread, their water, had to be 
carried to them, and here Lydia Fisher repaired, traveling through 
the wilderness, and for two years waited upon the regicides in 
their seclusion. In their room the light of day was almost shut 
out by heavy interior shutters, made of thick plank, and here 
they dwelt in such seclusion, that their shutters were never 
opened save at night, and then only when there was no light in 
the room. The settlers kept their presence, and those who con- 
cealed them, such a profound secret, that although the last 
regicide died in 1679-80, no mention was ever made in public 
of them or those who had befriended them until after the death 
of every person who had ventured to protect them, lest the English 
Government should visit vengeance upon them. Since this was 
a case in which no one could be actuated by the hope of possible 
reward, it shows a degree of steadfast courage and absolute loyalty 
to a conviction of right, which was a Puritan characteristic, and 
which Lydia Fisher equal!}' shared with the most prominent of 
the Puritans. The greatest heroes, as Mr. George Sheldon has 
recently said, were not the regicides, but those who, actuated by 
pure motives of humanity, sympathy and duty, cared for and 
protected them. Any single case of misplaced confidence, and 
all concerned were doomed to nameless torture and death, but 
none failed, although each knew that a single whispered word 
would bring a rich reward. All honor to those faithful souls 
who were actuated by that lofty patriotism which was exempli- 
fied in the life of Lydia Fisher Chickering. 

The rooms in this old Dover house, in which Mrs. Chickering 
lived, had low ceilings, tinted by smoke which escaped from an 
old-time fireplace, so large that the inmates, as they gathered 



around the blazing logs, could look up the old chimney and see 
the stars twinkle in the distant heavens, and hear the winter 
storm as it swept across their dwelling. Over the fireplace hung 
the fowling piece, to be taken down at a moment's notice, with 
bunches of dried herbs which served as medicine for the simple 
ailments of the household, with poles on which were hung dried 
apples, red peppers and rings of pumpkins, which had been dried 
for winter use. In and around the fireplace were found all the 
cooking utensils of the period, specimens of which I hope some 
day will form a part of your historical collection. In the large 
iron pot, meat and vegetables were cooked together, the great 
brass kettle, the pride of the housewife, was used on all occassions 
of preserving or pickling, the circular gridirons, the skillets, the 
toasting fork and frying pan were in daily use. The iron andirons, 
with a support for the spit, were probably made by the town 
blacksmith, the roasting kitchen and tin baker were used in 
later years, the latter being the successor of the baking kettle, 
with its perfect fitting cover, on w^hich live coals were heaped, 
and which turned out, in the hands of the skilled housewife, a 
product not inferior to the best cooking of today. Here also was 
a dresser which contained the pewter and the earthenware. On 
one side of the room was an open shelf, on which were kept the 
various utensils in daily use, the wooden platters, bowls and 
spoons. On the table there was an abundance of napkins, as 
the hands were constantly used in eating food, as forks were not 
generally used until well into the eighteenth century ; there were 
also knives, and wooden spoons, and mugs, and pitchers. In 
time pewter came into general use, and there were pewter 
porringers for the children and pewter plates and pewter platters, 
and pewter mugs, and pewter spoons, which were kept as bright 
as silver by the busy housewife. Much meat was eaten with the 
spoon and for this reason it was made into hash, stews and soup. 
Cereals in that far back day were made into porridge instead of 
loaves. From powdered corn, samp and hominy were prepared, 
and succotash was made from green corn and beans cooked 
together. 

In the sleeping room there was a high posted bedstead, hung 



with heavy woolen curtains to keep out the draughts and bitter 
winds of zero weather. The occupants were glad of nightcaps 
which were universally worn by both men and women, to pro- 
tect their heads and ears from the biting cold of rooms which, in 
any event, could not be heated. In sickness or when a guest 
was present in extreme weather, the warming pan, which was 
found in every home, hanging beside the kitchen fireplace, was 
taken down and used. At first a sack filled with straw or corn 
husks was placed upon the bedstead, but with the increase of 
fowls, feathers were secured, which were used in making feather 
beds, which added greatly to the comfort of the home. 

In the living room there was scant furniture, only stools and 
settles were in common use. When the darkness of night settled 
upon that humble home, the family gathered around the huge 
fireplace, which was supplemented by the burning of pine knots 
or candle wood, which furnished a bright light, and much work 
was done by it, yet it was not a satisfactoi'y way of lighting 
because it dropped much tar. To overcome this difficulty, the 
Betty lamp was introduced. It was suspended from a hook or 
nail, the bowl was filled with grease, and a cotton rag or wick 
was hung from the nose of the lamp, which when lighted fur- 
nished tlie illumination. With the increase of stock raising, 
tallow was procured, which was immediately used for candles. 
The making, in the autumn, of a winter's supply of candles was 
the special work of every housewife. Candles were at first 
dipped. The tallow was melted in a large kettle in the kitchen 
fireplace. To each candle rod — a stick about eighteen inches 
long — was attached six or eight wicks carefully straightened 
and twisted. The wicks on the candle rod were carefully dipped 
in the melted tallow, and placed to cool across two poles, which 
were supported on the backs of kitchen chairs; beneath, pans 
were set to catcii the dripping tallow. The candle rods were 
arranged along the poles until perhaps a hundred candles were 
in the process of manufacture. Having been given time to cool, 
they were regularly dipped until they attained the required 
dimensions. When the supply of tallow increased, candle 
moulds were invented in which candles of a standard size were 

13 



made. The hand moulds were made to run one, three, six or 
more candles at a time. 

Raised bread was hardly known in this old home. Yeast is 
said to have been first introduced by the French Huguenots. 
Previous to this time leaven was exclusively used to raise bread. 
It was no easy matter to preserve the leaven from one baking to 
another. It would sour in warm weather and freeze in cold 
weather. To bake bread in an iron pot over the coals or inverted 
before the blaze was no easy task, yet there was no other way 
of doing it as brick ovens did not come into use very early in the 
settlement of New England. Bread was usually made of rye and 
Indian meal because wheat did not , ripen well for many years. 

Near the house there was a piece of broken ground, in which 
flax and hemp were grown. When the flax was three or four 
inches high it was carefully weeded, and when ripe, about the 
flrst of July, it was pulled up by the roots and laid out to dry. 
When thoroughly dry, it was rippled in the field, that is, drav^n 
through a coarse wooden or heavy iron wire comb. The flax 
stalk was carefully drawn through this comb to break off the 
seed vessels which were carefully gathered and the seed was 
saved for another planting. The stalks were then tied into 
bundles, and stacked in the field. When thoroughly dry they 
were placed in water, to rot the leaves off and soften the fibre. 
The flax was always rotted in running streams, and i-o flax 
places in the Charles River were common in this town. When 
cleansed, the flax was once more dried in bunches, after which 
it was broken in the flaxbrake, to separate the fibre, and remove 
the woody parts. The next process was to swingle it with a 
swingling blade and knife to clear it of all bark. The clear 
fibre was then made into bundles and swingled again, until it 
was soft; then came the hackling, the dividing of the fine fibre, 
the laying off of the long threads, in one untangled line, and 
the separating and removal of the tow, ;. process which was 
often six times repeated. The fibre was sorted according to its 
fineness which was called spreading and drawing. Flax had to 
go through all these processes, sometimes twenty in number, 
before it was ready for the wheel in that old home. Spinning 

H 



was the winter's work and here the huin of the small wheel was 
heard from early morn until late at night. The small flax wheel 
was followed by the introduction of the large wool wheel. Tlie 
making of a piece of cloth represented the work of many weeks 
and months. First, the sheep were washed in the nearby brook, 
and then confined in the well-swept barn until the next day, 
when the shearing commenced. The nimble shearer, with his 
shears in hand, parted the wool under the neck and worked his 
way down close to the skin, until tlie whole fleece, in one piece, 
dropped from the sheep, who leaped forth to regain his liberty 
again. Every fleece had to be examined with care as all pitched 
or tarred locks and brown wool was removed. The white locks 
were carefully separated and tied together, ready for the dye vat. 
This was called " dyeing in the wool", an expression still used. 
The next process, in the manufacture, was the carding of the 
wool with hand cards. The wool was first well greased, the 
grease being thoroughly worked in. The card was then taken 
in the left hand, and while resting on the knee, a tuft of wool 
was drawn across it several times, until a sufficient quantity of 
the fibre had been caught upon the wire teeth ; the second card 
was then drawn across the first card several times until the fibre 
was brushed parallel, the wool was then rolled or carded into 
fleecy balls. It was then ready for spinning on the large wheel. 
An active woman could spin six skeins of yarn a day, and in so 
doing it has been estimated that she walked forty miles. The 
importance of these home industries is illustrated by the fact 
that probably as late as 1812, every person in this town was 
dressed in homespun which was manufactured in the homes. 

Soap making was another industry in this old home. At the 
door of every dwelling stood a leach barrel in which the accu- 
mulation of hard wood ashes was placed. The barrel was filled 
with ashes to within a foot of the top. As the season approached 
for soap making, hot water was added twice a day to the contents 
of the barrel, which as it slowly filtered through the ashes became 
lye. There was an outlet in the bottom of the barrel from which 
the dripping lye was caught in a small wooden tub or bucket. 
This process went on for several weeks. No recipe could be 

IS 



given for making soap as all depended upon the strength of the 
lye, so the making of good soap depended largely upon the 
judgment of the soap maker. The lye was leached and releached 
until it was strong enough to bear up an egg, so that only a spot 
as big as a ninepence appeared above the surface. Once or 
twice a year the accumulation of grease was brought out-of- 
doors and boiled with the lye in a great iron pot. With good 
luck, thirty-two gallons of soap could be made in a day. 

Cheese making was another home industry. The milk was 
set over the fire and heated with a piece of rennet to make the 
milk curdle. It was then broken in the cheese basket, and 
placed in the cheese frame, and pressed for a week, the pressure 
being increased each day until the firm round cheese was ready 
to be put on the shelf, and turned and buttered every day. 

By the time her daughters were a dozen years old, they were 
a great help to Mrs. Chickering. They tended the poultry, 
assisted in making butter, and sometimes spun flax and wool. 
The boys labored in the field and often, after a hard day's work, 
assisted in laying stone walls by moonlight ; many walls on these 
old Dover farms were laid in this way. From their own fields 
and woods, the family got their clothing, food and fuel, the 
product of their own skill and labor. 

In i743i Lydia Fisher Chickering's grandson, Joseph Chick- 
ering married Rebecca Newell and had a farm set off from the 
original homestead, on which he built, in 1747, the house which 
is still standing on Haven Street, an old house rich in associations 
and memories, the life of whose inmates we are to consider. 
This was a typical New England farm, the kind which was 
always a surprise to Europeans, and those who came here from 
the more fertile parts of the country. A southern planter, who 
owned many acres of Mississippi Delta land and often came to 
New England because of his cotton interests, was visiting the 
homestead of a great cotton manufacturer. The planter looked 
at the thin, impoverished soil, at the simple farm dwelling-house, 
wherein his millionaire host was born, at the straggling stone 
fence, which had been built partly to ease the soil of its rocky 
burden, and exclaimed, "In the name of heaven, sir, what do 

16 



you raise in this bleak region?" The great New England 
manufacturer thought for a moment and then said, "We raise 
men." This has been the great product of New England and I 
want to consider with you for a few moments, the character of 
some of the men who were born or lived in childhood in this old 
home on Haven Street, boys who played in these fields, walked 
these streets and attended yonder school. It was a home that 
through industry and frugality had never known the sting of 
poverty, a thing accursed. None of its inmates had ever eaten 
at her scant table or slept in her cold bed. "Never yet" said a 
recent speaker, "have I seen poverty bring one smile to human 
lips or dry one tear as it fell from a human eye. But I have 
seen her sharpen the tongue for biting speech and harden the 
tenderest heart, I've seen her make even the presence of love a 
burden, and cause the mother to wish that the baby nursing at 
her scant breast had never been born." 

As a consequence of the strong intellectual life which was 
developed in this old home, four boys entered college, and in 
this fact we must not overlook the important work of the town 
minister, the Rev. Benjamin Caryl who, settled in 1762, lived 
in that age when the country minister was at the height of his 
influence. Mr. Caryl probably knew every man, woman and 
child in the parish, and it was his business to know them so well, 
that he could intelligently advise as to their future. I believe he 
had a hand in sending, as well as fitting, these boys for college, 
whose careers we are to briefly trace. Deacon Joseph Haven, 
the father of two of the boys, the grandfather of another and the 
stepfather of the fourth, although a cordwainer and farmer, was 
deeply interested in education, as shown by the fact that in 1779, 
he made the parish a gift of £13 6s. 4d. toward the support of 
a school, the only gift which the town has ever received for 
school purposes. This was a home in which there was no 
shirking responsibility, and when it was decided to offer resist- 
ance to British rule, one of Mr. Haven's sons, Elias, who had 
been reared in this old home, gave his life at the Lexington alarm 
in defence of American liberty. These boys all became men 
"who made their father's name sound honorable." 

17 



Jabez Chickering was born in this old home, the same in which 
his father died when he was thirteen months old. Under the 
care of his mother, his mind was imbued with the principles of 
religion and virtue. He was early taught to know and love the 
God of his fathers. A contemporary with him for three years 
in his college life said, "His character as a scholar was respected 
and his acquirements such as laid the foundation of his future 
usefulness." In that age he naturally turned to the ministry, 
which was regarded as the one learned profession, although his 
inclination tended toward literature and science. He was highly 
esteemed as a public speaker, not only in his native town but in 
other places. Even his earliest efforts in the ministry were 
favorably received, and wherever he preached, he was remem- 
bered with affection. At the age of twenty-three he was settled 
over the First Church, in what is now Norwood, where he 
remained minister of the parish the remaining years of his life. 
He left no printed discourse only two minor parts taken in 
ordinations. It is to be regretted that he repeatedly refused to 
permit the printing of any of his discourses, as they often con- 
tained valuable anecdotes of persons, and historical sketches, 
which are now lost in oblivion. It is interesting in this 
connection to note that Mr. Chickering was very fond of looking 
into local subjects of antiquity, and was diligent in tracing out 
the men and women of former generations. He laid the founda- 
tion of the present Norwood Public Library, having early 
established a fund for the purchase of books for the children of 
the parish, of whom he was very fond. By his social manners 
Mr. Chickering made friends, even at the first meeting, whom 
by the goodness of his life and the correctness of his character, 
he held through every subsequent period of his life. No m.an 
was better beloved by the citizens of his native town and by all 
others in the vicinity. His politeness, courtesy and hospitality 
are worthy of record. The stranger of distinction was welcomed 
to his table with that urbanity which did honor to his friends, 
and the friend who had seen better days found within his walls, 
not only a shelter from distress but actual relief, which was 
administered with a bounty which was pure and unmixed with 
alloy. In charity to the poor he had few equals, and the last 

18 



hours of his life were soothed by the prayers of the poor. Mr. 
Chickering was liberal in his theological views, and made the 
Scriptures his only rule of faith. The creeds of nien were 
abhorrent to him. He was by disposition candid, and allowed 
to others the liberty which he wished for himself. He was 
always prepared not only to forgive an injury but to do kind 
offices to him from whom the injury was received. Surely the 
world was blessed in such a man. 

Joseph Haven was born in Hopkinton in 1747, and came to 
Dover when he was ten years old, his father having married 
Rebecca Chickeriiig, widow of Joseph Chickering, and the 
mother of.Jabez Chickering, whose life we have just considered. 
The two boys were brought up together and presumably fitted 
for college under the town minister. Both entered and graduated 
from Harvard the same year. Both had like tastes and aspira- 
tions. In 1775, Joseph Haven was called to Rochester, New 
Hampshire, and settled with much unanimity, over a parish 
whose meeting-house was locked against the man who had been 
settled over the church only five years before. He took up his 
life work in this territory where he labored as a minister for 
forty-nine years, among a people who previous to the conquest 
of Canada, only fifteen years before his settlement, were few in 
number, and who were unable to improve their farms except at 
great hazard. They had to carry their firearms into the fields, 
and set sentinels to give the alarm whenever an enemy approached. 
This was the field into which Mr. Haven entered and for many 
years he was the only minister in Rochester, Farmington and 
Milton, all of which territory he represented as town minister. 
It was a common saying that Mr, Haven was a friend of the 
sick and the poor. No one could long be sick in the whole 
region before he heard of it, and his presence with his kind 
and enlivening voice was often better than medicine. Mr. Haven 
became very familiar with Indian life and warfare, through long 
intercourse with the residents, several of whom had been Indian 
captives, and who in after years threw much light on this subject. 
He was a man who did not hesitate to speak his opinion plainly 
and forcibly on all public questions relating not only to the church 

19 



but to the town, state and national affairs. Few men devoted 
more time to reading, study and investigation of important 
questions. It was largely through his efforts, in 1792, that a 
library was established in Rochester, an institution which achieved 
lasting success. The first book was presented to the library by 
Mr. Haven and was entitled "The Principles and Nature of 
Political Law." On the opening of the Library in October, 1792, 
Mr. Haven delivered an oration, by invitation, liberal extracts 
from which still exist. This was about the time, probably, when 
the first library was organized in Dover. This library was later 
known as the Proprietors' Library, and was fostered by the Rev. 
Dr. Sanger through the forty-five years of his ministry here. 
Mr. Haven was very fond of children and never passed a boy or 
girl on the street without bowing and raising his hat, a compli- 
ment sure to be acknowledged by a bow in return. On his family 
calls he entertained the children with stories, and often left off 
abruptly, in the middle of a witch story, to say grace at the tea 
table, resuming the story so suddenly that the thread of the 
narrative remained unbroken. 

Many qualities combined to make Mr. Haven a popular man, 
although he was never an eloquent preacher. That which partic- 
ularly distinguished him was his social and genial spirit and his 
inexhaustible wit. The pith of his humorous sayings consisted 
largely in the peculiar quaintness of his manner. The following 
will illustrate his humor. Walking in his garden with a friend, 
to whom he was showing the variety of fruit which he cultivated, 
they came to a tree, laden with apples, fair and inviting to the 
eye. Mr. Haven picked one of the finest and handing it to his 
friend, said, "There, I recommend you to try that apple." With 
expectation excited and mouth watering, the friend took a 
generous bite. Instead of the rich juicy flavor he expected, he 
found an astringent bitterness. As he was recovering from the 
effect, Mr. Haven looked good humoredly into his puckered face 
and said, "They need recommending, don't they?" He was not 
only by nature affable and cheerful, but from principle as well. 
He regarded cheerfulness a christian duty. In his severest trials 
and afflictions, of which he had his share, he always exhibited 
extraordinary calmness and cheerfulness. Although well versed 

20 



i:i the jlo rical lore, he took little pleasure in doctrinal discourses. 
He preached to his congregation that they should follow right- 
eousness, faith, charity, peace, with them who call on the Lord 
out of a pure heart. Surely we find in Joseph Haven's life and 
character many traits worthy of our emulation today. 

John Haven, when only three and a half years of age, came 
under the influence of his stepmother, who exerted a mighty 
influence for good over all the children committed to her care. 
After taking his degree at Harvard, in 1776, he studied medicine 
and took up surgery as a specialty, a branch of medicine which, 
before the discovery of anaesthetics, required great nerve and 
ability. Previous to the founding of medical schools in this 
county, it was customary for young men desirous of learning 
"physic" to apprentice themselves for a term of years to some 
practitioner of repute, from whom he learned the art of practic- 
ing medicine. The apprentice took care of the doctor's horse, 
looked after the office, compounded drugs, and during the last 
years of his apprenticeship was taken by the doctor on his rounds 
to visit patients. There were no courses of lectures or demon- 
strations for such young men, and they had no opportunity to 
view a variety of operations or frequent dissections, which were 
even then common in olden countries. While these students 
gained some knowledge of physiology, there was little attempt 
at anatomy. Of all the great medical discoveries that have been 
made since the founding of the republic, only one had been made 
at that time, namely : innoculation for smallpox. We do not 
know with whom John Haven studied medicine, but the fact 
that he became a surgeon in that day, before there was any 
medical literature, schools or hospitals, shows that he was a man 
of large heart and much vigor. The added fact that he became 
a ship surgeon shows that he was not afraid of hardship. The 
voyage in those days entailed a wearisomeness now almost incon- 
ceivable. We are deprived of a full knowledge of the man 
through his early death by shipwreck, but his choice of a profes- 
sion and the service he entered are enough to show his character 
and ability. 

Joseph Haven, the last to go to college from this old home, 
graduated at Harvard in 1810, and was ordained to the ministry 

21 



of the town church at Dennis, Mass., in 1S14. ]\Ir. Haven was 
settled at a time when there was strife and dissensions growing 
out of enforced taxation to support the church, and during his 
ministry separations and dissensions were frequent. It is difficuU 
in this day of many churches and growing toleration, to realize 
the grief and anxiety with which the town minister saw the "isms" 
dividing the parishes. This feeling is clearly seen here, in the 
anniversary sermons of the Rev. Dr. Sanger. The town minis- 
ters sincerely believed that the establishment of different churches 
was dangerous to the spiritual welfare of the people. We of the 
present day can have very little conception of the excess of 
language that was used, and the bitter feeling that was engendered 
in the organization of new churches. One poor soul in Mr. 
Haven's chmxh, thus vented her feelings : "The Presbyterians 
have all become Universalists, and the Methodists worship God 
as though they were possessed with the Devil." Through all 
these perplexities Mr. Haven's course was such as to highlv 
commend him to the community. He is still remembered as a 
tall, grave, dignified man, devout, sincere and conscientious in 
the discharge of all his duties. In the absence of good schools, 
he undertook the education of his only child, Joseph Haven, Jr., 
whom he taught Latin when he was little more than a baby. He 
taught his son to love good books, and he used to say of himself, 
that at seven years of age he was as good a judge of books as at 
any time in his life. Before he was ten years old he was 
fitted for college. * Mr. Haven taught his son to love the beauti- 
ful and the sublime, to look from the crest of the wave, off over 
the water to the north, and the water to the south, and feel the 
wideness of the universe and the limitless stretch of the sky, and 
to be thrilled by the grandeur of the coming storm. This boy 
became one of the most eminent of American Trinitarian Congre- 
gational ministers, and his training illustrates what true education 
should be. "There is no education," says a recent writer, 
"worth the having, that does not cause the child to love father and 
mother more. There is no mental development worth the time 
and effort needed to get it, that does not cause the pupil to 
understand and appreciate more warmly the blessings of home. 



There is no religious instruction xVorthy of mention, unless by it 
the child is brought into more trustful and loving connection with 
the divine Fatherhood. There is no system of intellectual train- 
ing tit for the children of the Republic, that does not implant 
and cultivate within their hearts the love of country." ' 

Mr. and Mrs. Sawin, the donors of the SaKvin Memorial 
Building, which we are assembled to dedicate," \vere reared in 
good old New England homes, such as I have described. Ben- 
jamin Nelson Sawin was the son of Calvin and Hannah (Felch) 
Sawin, and was born in Natick, February 9, 1S23. He was 
descended in the sixth generation from John Sawin, who came 
to America in 1650, and is believed to have been the ancestor 
of the American family. Mr. Sawin's great, great grandfather, 
John Sawin, was the first white child born in Natick^ his father 
Thomas Sawin being one of the first English settlers in that town. 
When we recall the dangers, the privations and the hardship 
which Thomas Sawin endured in his pioneer settlement in the 
wilderness, we can appreciate the strong character which his 
descendant, Benjamin N. Sawin, possessed. While reared in 
the tenets of the Calvinistic faith, he early associated himself 
with the First Parish Church, where he listened to the cheerful 
faith of the Rev. Dr. Sanger. In the latter years of his life he 
attended the nearby Eliot Church at South Natick. He went to 
the District school and attained the average scholarship of the 
New England boy ; he possessed a retentive memory and his 
accurate knowledge greatly enriched the history of the town. 
He was honored by his fellow citizens with many offices of trust 
and responsibility, being a member of the Board of Selectmen 
and a Park Commissioner. He was never found recreant to duty 
in any public trust. During the last years of his life he was one 
of the cemetery commissioners and labored untiringly with his 
associates to improve and beautify the spot, which for nearly two 
hundred years has been watered by the tears of love and affection. 
He catered to the innocent amusment of the people, in a well 
equipped and carefully conducted picnic grounds on the Charles 
River, and in this business rendered an essential service to 
his fellow men. He was an intelligent farmer, and to a greater 
degree than most farmers, early applied scientific principles to 

23 



agriculture. While he was a lifelong Democrat, he probably 
never voted the straight party ticket. He looked to the man 
rather than the party platform, for judicious laws, and measures 
to promote good citizenship. 

Mr. Sawin married in 1S63, Mary Jane, daughter of Aaron 
and Mary S. (Brooks) Bacon. This marriage was blessed by 
two children, Mary and George, both of whom died in earl)' 
childhood, and within three days of one another. I believe this 
name so carefully selected, "The Sawin Memorial Building,'" 
has a deep significance, and had its origin in the memor) of 
"life's bright promise, just seen and then withdrawn." In 18S8 
Mrs. Sawin died, and in 1893, Mr. Sawin was united in a second 
marriage with Sarah Eudora, daughter of John and Abigail 
(Wight) Shumway, who joined with her husband in founding 
the "Sawin Memorial." She was descended in the sixth gener- 
ation from Peter Shumway, who settled in Topsfield, Mass., and 
belonged to the greatly persecuted French Huguenots, so cele- 
brated in the history of civil and religious liberty. Mrs. Sawin 
was a woman of high ideals and pure womanhood. She was 
interested in every movement calculated to advance the welfare 
of man, and was not unmindful of measures especially calculated 
to advance the interests of woman. She was of an ardent reli- 
gious nature, and while she rejoiced in the faith of the liberal 
church, she was tolerant of other faiths, and the liberty she 
demanded, she cheerfully accorded to others. Mrs. Sawin was 
deeply interested in temperance and in the moral and religious 
education of the young and was for many years an efficient Sun- 
day School worker. She was a charter member of the Dover 
Grange, and in this situation found an opportunity for the 
exercise of her varied literary attainments. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Sawin wei'e members of the Dover Historical Society, and from 
their earliest childhood were familiar with the history and 
traditions of the town. They knew that sentiment is a powerful 
factor even in the valuation of real estate, and that the people 
are increasingly fond of a town with a history, and so they pro- 
vided the means of preserving the history of this town for all time. 
They had little wealth, as the world measures riches, yet they 

24 




S. EUDORA (SHrMWANi SWVIN 



gave all. Witli a wise administration of their gift, coming gen- 
erations will rise up to call them blessed, I trust it will be the 
aim of the Dover Historical Society, through this generous gift, 
to take advantage of every opportunity to preserve and dissemi- 
nate the history of the town. This building adds a new force to 
the educational institutions of the community. And in the 
Natural History Department of your Society, I hope you will see 
to it that the museum contains a complete collection of specimens 
of every native object, animal, vegetable or mineral, which the 
town produces, then the Sawin Memorial Building will be a 
power as an educational institution in your midst. 

The great cvenllul Present hides the Past; but through the din 
Of its loud life, hints and echoes from the life behind steal in ; 
And the lore of home and fireside and the legendary rhyme, 
Makes the task of duty lighter which the true man owes his time. 



1 he President: We are now to listen to an original poem, 
written by a resident of Dover, Mr. Hubbard E. Packard. 

POEM 
By Mr. Hubbard E. Packard 

We are here assembled, 

The people of our town, 
And others who have won 

Distinction and renown. 

We come as one soul, 

Our tribute to give 
To one who in our memory 

Long shall live. 

"Ben Sawin" by his neighbors 

He was called, without the Sir, 
Yet he is worthy to rank with 

Ben Franklin or Ben Hur. 

25 



And the good wife, toOr ■;. . 

We must understand, 
For out of her God-like heart. 

She also gave the land. 

Their name is engiaved 

On yonder stone. 
Yet it shall not 

Live there alone. 

And "what's in a name?" 

Its deeds that we revere^ 
And we respect them ibr their love 

Of our town most dear. 

The love for their people 
Is proven,, aje, proven true, 

For out of that love 
Yon building grew. 

That monument shall stand 

For many a year; 
It shall enclose 

Things we greatly revere. 

To the relics of the past 
And the things of the now. 

We, one and all, 

In humble reverence bow. 

Yet the building and its treasures 
Some day will be things of the past. 

But the thought and the deed 
Will surely always last. 

Yea, the brick and the stone 

In the dust shall lie, 
But the gift and the givers 

Will never die. 



The President : The commission of Colonel Daniel Whiting 
as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army of the Revolution will be 
presented by a member of the Dedham Historical Society, Don 
Gleason Hill, Esq. 

26 



PRESENTATION OF COLONEL WHITING'S COM- 
MISSION 
By Don Gleason Hill, Esq_. 

jMr. President^ Ladies and Gentlefnen : 

I want first of all to congratulate the Dover Historical Society 
on its good fortune in acquiring a building to be used exclusively 
for historical purposes, a place where you can meet to consider 
historical subjects, where the materials of local history can be 
searched out and preserved, a place where you can make a 
collection of historical books and pamphlets, where you can 
exhibit specimens of the articles and utensils which entered into 
the daily life of your ancestors, that life which has been so fully 
described in the historical address of this afternoon. As the 
history of Dedham is your history for the one hundred and forty- 
eight years previous to the incorporation of Dover, I want to 
present to your society a copy of the vital statistics of the town 
of Dedham. Here you will find recorded the births, deaths, 
and marriages, which occured in this territory previous to 1784. 
I want also to place in your hands a copy of the Dedham Records, 
which give a full account of the controversy with the Apostle 
Eliot ov^er the granting of land to the Natick Indians. This is a 
subject of special interest to you, as it relates to that part of the 
grant which is located on the south side of Charles River, and 
was taken from your territory. You are thus intimately asso- 
ciated with one of the most interesting missionary enterprises 
ever undertaken by man. 

The Dedham Historical Society has had in its possession for 
several years the Commission of Daniel Whiting as a Lieutenant- 
Colonel in the Revolutionary War. As Colonel Whiting was 
a resident of that part of Dedham which is now Dover, it is 
eminently proper that this interesting and valuable document 
should be put into the keeping of the Dover Society. As you 
well know, Daniel Whiting was Dedham's most prominent 
citizen in the W^ar of the Revolution. He served in the last 
French and Indian War, at Crown Point, and Ticonderoga, and 
there learned the value of discipline and the use of arms. In 

27 



the Revolution he took part at the Lexington Alarm, being the 
First Lieutenant in Captain Ebenezer Battle's Company of 
Minute Men. He was made a Captain in Brevv^er's Regiment a 
few days later, and with fifteen others from the Springfield Parish 
took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was in the siege of 
Boston, and later entered the Continental Army. He was 
made, as this Commission shows, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 
Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, September 29, 177S. He was 
in the New York Campaign, and on the death of Colonel Alden, 
in the Cherry Valley Massacre, November 11, 1778, took 
command and held the fort. He retired from the army in 17S1, 
to take care of iiis four motherless children, having given six 
years to the service. 

He was the owner of the parish tavern, and on his return to 
civil life, sold the property and loaned every dollar without 
security to the state, so great was her necessity. The Revolu- 
tion had no greater heroes than those who did such things. So 
it is with the greatest pleasure that by vote of the Dedham 
Historical Society I now put into your keeping the Commission 
o'z Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Whiting. Guard it well; it will 
become more and more priceless as one generation succeeds 
another to the end of time. 



TAg President : The commission will be accepted in behalf 
of the Dover Historical Society by Mr. Jedediah W. Higgins. 

ACCEPTANCE OF COLONEL WHITING'S COM- 
MISSION 

By Mr. Jedediah W. Higgins. 

J/y Worthy Sir : 

In behalf of the Dover Historical and Natural History Society, 
I thank the Dedham Historical Society for the Commission of 
Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Whiting w^hich yon have put in our 
keeping today. This commission of Dedham's highest officer in 
the Revolutionary Army is of interest to the residents of both 
towns, but especially to us, as this was Colonel Whiting's place of 

28 



residence. Wc thank you not only for tliis gift, but also for the 
fraternal spirit vvliich you bring to us on this occasion. 

And I want in behalf of the Dover Historical Society to thank 
you for the gifts you have brought to us ; these records will be 
of great interest and value to the residents of Dover. 



The President : We are now to have the pleasure of an 
address from one whose favors to residents of Dover have been 
many ; our Representative in Congress, the Hon. John F. Weeks. 

ADDRESS 
By Hon. John F. Weeks. 

You have met this afternoon to dedicate a building provided 
for by one of your own worthy and hard working townsmen, 
and I am more than pleased to have this opportunitv to join 
you in any work of this character and to say a word about gifts 
and their effect. This is a period in the existence of this coun- 
try which has developed the spirit of giving to a much greater 
degree than any previous period. This is quite likely due to the 
fact that wealth appears to be concentrated to a greater degree 
than heretofore. I doubt, myself, if that is essentially true, but 
we have been having a period of wonderful prosperity, and there 
are large numbers of men living in our midst who have been 
enabled, by this condition of prosperity, to accumulate wealth 
beyond their immediate needs and beyond the necessities of those 
who succeed them. In fact, many men feel that it is better for 
them to devote their wealth to the community rather than to their 
own immediate heirs. I recall the instance of tlie man who had 
succeeded in his financial undertakings until he had mada a large 
accumulation, wlio, in speaking of his children and what he was 
able to do for them, said that he had been able to give them 
everything which he enjoyed as a boy excepting his poverty. 
There is a great deal more in that expression than there appears 
to be at first thought. The man who starts out in life with the 
absolute necessity before him of accomplishing through his own 

29 



efforts what he does accomplish, has an incentive which cannot 
come to any other. And therefore the man possessed of large 
wealth, or even moderate wealth, may feel that he is doing quite 
as well by those who would naturally inherit his savings if he 
gives less to them and more to the public at large. Then again 
there are instances of men who have acquired abnormal sums, 
who cannot possibly do with them otherwise than to provide for 
the public benefit. I refer to such men as Mr. Rockefeller and 
Mr. Carnegie. Personally, I have little sympathy with the 
present tendency to decry taking and making good use of what 
is known as tainted money. It introduces at once the question 
of what tainted money is, and who is to be a judge of whether 
it is tainted or not. Men go on and accumulate money in busi- 
ness enterprises under the laws of the country as they exist. 
They are not accused of breaking any law other than a moral 
law, and those who criticise their methods do not even take the 
trouble to investigate whether the benefactor has even done that. 
But, in any case, even assuming that these great givers of their 
enormous wealth have broken the moral law, is it better for us, 
or for the world at large, to insist that these large accumulations 
of wealth shall remain intact rather than that they shall be dis- 
tributed among the people in such a way that every citizen may 
receive some benefit from it. My own judgment is that the latter 
course is a justifiable one. Not only does this money give direct 
benefit wherever it is spent, but it serves as an incentive for 
others who may have accumulated in lesser amounts, but through 
more desirable channels, and who may, by the example which 
is set them, be inclined to devote their resources to the public 
good rather than to the benefit of those who are immediately 
coming after them in their own families. We are apt to be 
influenced by our associates and what our associates are doing. 
Every community is affected if it has in it a few public spirited 
men. Their neighbors see what these men are doing and are 
influenced to follow their example. Any one of you can see 
this emphasized in the communities about us. A homely exam- 
ple of what I mean would be the methods followed in keeping 
estates or houses in good condition. You let one of the residents 

30 



of this village make such disposition of his property that it is in 
better physical condition than that surrounding it, and it imme- 
diately attracts attention, and the owners of the adjoining 
properties are quite apt to feel the reflection and to, in some 
degree, follow the example. Therefore, the large givings to 
which I have referred, like those of Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. 
Carnegie, may induce other men to come to do likewise, and to 
give where their benefaction will have a more direct and larger 
benefit, in proportion to its size, than the gifts of these multi> 
millionaires. For instance, Mr. Carnegie is criticised for 
exacting burdensome conditions when he presents a library to a 
country village. Qiiite likely that is so in many cases, but Mr. 
Carnegie has no opportunity to investigate the special conditions 
which he is dealing with as would the local giver who knows 
the needs of the town, the revenue possibilities and the general 
requirements of its people. Therefore, I say that, without being 
too discriminating, we should accept these large gifts and make 
the best possible use of the money. There is another side to this 
question which I wish to refer to briefly, and that is the effect 
which it has on the giver himself. How much more satisfaction 
it must be to a man to be able to extend his good influences by 
assisting the community in which he lives, than to confine those 
good influences to his own immediate family or friends. The 
world little cares about what we do for ourselves, or our 
family, or those who are in some way dependent on us, but the 
world will never forget the man who so extends his benefactions 
that all the people who come within the influence of this bene- 
faction may receive some good from it. And that carries me 
back to the suggestion which I made in starting, that we are now 
in the midst of a period of giving. There is hardly a town in 
Massachusetts of any considerable size which has not received, 
or is not receiving, from some son who has made an unusual 
accumulation, some benefit as a result of his success. I nm sure 
that if it is more blessed to give than to receive, the giver in each 
of these cases is receiving in satisfaction quite as much as are the 
people who are to get the benefit of his generosity. 

I am glad that Mr. and Mrs. Sawin decided to make this gift 
in the form of a Memorial Building to be used for historical 

31 



purposes. We have in this country a vast amount of material 
which should be collected and retained for the benefit of those 
who come after us. Very frequently we are not able to judge 
today of what historical value the material which we have at 
hand may be to our descendants. What one of us would not give 
hundreds of times more than the actual value it represents for 
articles or photographs of our immediate ancestors and, more 
especially, real facts about their lives and what they did in the 
community. They have been in many cases extremely careless 
about sending down to us data that was reliable. There is an 
endless amount of historical matter treated as historical matter 
that is not true, and the time is coming when we should system- 
atically sift out the true from the false, and pass along down to 
those who come after, the valuable things which will benefit 
them and give them a correct knowledge of those who have gone 
before and of their acts. This work cannot be done unless there 
is a suitable building to contain articles and data, or unless there 
is in the community an organization which is devoting itself to 
such purposes. You now have both the organization and the 
building, and it should be considered a matter of sufficient impor- 
tance to the citizens of Dover to associate themselves with this 
organization and to see that in future everything which will be 
of benefit to your descendants is retained in such form that it 
can be made useful. 



The President : We have with us the Secretary of the Bay 
State Historical League, who will address you, Mr. John F. 
Ayer. 

ADDRESS 
By Mr. John F. Ayer. 

Mr. President^ Meynbers of the Dover Historical Society : 

I heartily congratulate you and your organization upon its 
coming into possession of this new and commodious building — 
this permanent house. I bring to you also the greetings of the 
Bay State Historical League upon this important occasion. 

32 



One of the objects of the League is to bring the local histori- 
cal societies into closer relations with one another, and so I 
suppose your committee thought it proper to in\ ite a representa- 
tive of the Bay Scate Historical League here today in order that 
he might tell you something of the working of this organization, 
by way of encouragement, for most local societies need that 
whatever their environment. There is no better way for the 
local historical societies to increase their usefulness, to arouse 
the enthusiam of their members and so do better work than by 
"getting together," 

This the League is trying to bring about. The recent meet- 
ings for instance in Medford and Hyde Park where the delegates 
from many societies discussed the best methods of work — the 
successful xuork of flourishing societies^ were occasions of 
great interest and productive of much good. There were exceed- 
ingly interesting papers read, papers full of suggestion, 
presenting various phases of historical work, and successful 
methods of carrying on local work under financial difficulties 
and at the same time stating many historical facts in a very 
attractive and original way. After the reading of the papers 
the meetings took on the character of "conference meetings." 
Many questions were asked — in answer the company received 
the benefit of the experiences of the many societies, told in bright 
crisp, telling, in some instances, witty responses, making this 
feature of the meetings an added attraction, not down on the 
program to be sure, but of great interest and highly appreciated 
by all. 

Two things are essential for the well-being of our local histor- 
ical societies. One is to encourage the social side along with 
the strictly historical : the other is join the 15ay State HiRtorical 
League. These two will work wonders in your society and 
your success is assured. I could tell you concerning one society 
where no women are on its membership list, where meetings 
were very few and far between, a society doing absolutely no 
work, with only a semblance of vitality. 

Again I could name a society with a membership of five 
hundred or six hundred, holding regular meetings, where much 
sociability exists, doing continually work of the best type, its 

33 



members enthusiastic, its women always ready to lend a helping 
hand, tinancially a success and historically very near the top of 
the list of our local organizations — the reason is apparent. It is 
worth something to know how to avoid the one condition and 
how to secure the other. It is worth more to know just what 
the neighboring societies are doing and how they do it. 

Mr. President, again both personally and as the representative 
of the Bay State Historical League I congratulate you and your 
Society upon its good fortune, and I assure you I am greatly 
pleased to come here today and join with you in the dedication 
of the Sawin Memorial Building:. 



The President : 1 will ask the audience to remain a few 
minvites longer while the Vice-President, Mr. Richard H. Bond, 
reads a few interesting letters. 



Letter from his Excellency, Curtis Guild, Jr. 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
Executive Chamber 

State House, Boston. 

May 9, 1907. 
Frank Smith, Esq^. , 

Dedham, Mass. 
My dear Mr. Smith : 

I am exceedingly sorry that two engagements, one in con- 
nection with Arlington Street Church and the other with the 
First Corps of Cadets, make it impossible for me to be with you 
on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 14. 

I particularly regret this fact for, as you know, the Guilds all 
came from Norfolk County and swarmed particularly thickly at 
Dedham. 

I feel sure that the occasion will be interesting and helpful 
from a patriotic point of view. With every good wish to the 
town and the county with their splendid histories, believe me. 

Faithfully yours, 

Curtis Guild, Jr. 

34 



Letter from Lieutenant-Governor Eben S. Draper. 

IIoPEDALE, Mass., May 13, 1907. 
My dear Mr. Smith : 

I am very sorry tliat a previous engagement prevents my 
accepting your kind invitation to be present at the dedication of 
your new building, the Sawin Memorial, on Tuesday afternoon, 
May 14. 

I am obliged to go to Philadelphia, to be the guest of the 
American Association of Cotton Manufacturers at that time, an 
engagement of great importance, made a long time ago, which 
of course makes it impossible for me to come to Dover. 

I should have been very glad to have been there because, as 
you know, several of my ancestors lived in that part of Dedham 
which is now Dover, and it would have been very interesting 
for me to have come there and looked up for myself facts in 
connection with them. 

Trusting that the occasion will be what I have no doubt it will 
be, most successful and pleasant, 1 am. 

Very sincerely yours, 

Eben S. Draper. 
Frank Smith, Esq,. 



Letter from the Rev. Dr. Edvvard E. Hale, Chaplain United 
States Senate. 

Frank Smith, Esq,, 
Dear Sir : 

I should like very much to come to Dover, as you propose, 
but I am afraid it is not possible. If I find I can come, I will 
let you know. 

Do you know of any printed likeness of Dr. Sanger? 

Always yours, 

Edward E. Hale. 

Roxbury, May 2, 1907. 

35 



Letter from the Rev. Franklin C. Jones, formerly pastor of the 
Evangelical Congregational Church. 

Norfolk, Mass., May 8, 1907. 
Mrs. Sarah A. Higgins, Secretary : 

We thank you and Mr. Howe heartily for the invitation to 
attend the dedicatory exercises of May 14. I regret that neither 
Mrs. Jones nor I are well enough to go. Henry has it in mind 
to go if he can get away, but it is a busy season. 

1 have felt a great deal of interest in the execution of the 
"Sawin Memorial Building," feeling that it would not only be 
an ornament to the town, but would have an effect to promote 
civic pride and pubHc spirit in the people. When I went to 
Dover to reside I read with a great deal of interest Mr. Smith's 
excellent history of the place, and came into cordial sympathy 
with the work of your Society. There is much in the history 
of all our old New England towns to stimulate the inhabitants 
to imitate the virtues of those who have gone before and who 
laid the foundations on which we are building today. The 
young should be made conversant with the old New England 
life, and led t® emulate the virtues of those who subdued the 
wilderness and the red men, and laid the foundations of church 
and state in the fear of God. With greater wealth and oppor- 
tumties we ought not to be behind those old heroes in virtue and 
devotion to the public good. 

The dedication of this Historical Building is a step in advance 
for Dover. I hope to hear next that a Village Improvement 
Society has been formed, which will be another step in advance. 
Such a society, efficiently managed, will do much to make the 
place attractive, to draw in a desirable class of residents, to cul- 
tivate the taste of the people and to add to the value of property. 
Would not the gathering of many friends of Dover next week 
be a good time to talk over such a project? 

With cordial interest in the prosperity of your Society, I 
remain, 

Very truly yours, 

Franklin C. Jones. 
36 



The Presidctit: At the close of these exercises, all are 
invited to inspect the Sawin Memorial Building and accept the 
hospitality of the Dover Historical Society. 



In the decoration of the huilding the curators, Mrs. L. A. 
Chickering and Mrs. E. A. Wotton, made use of the old- 
fashioned ^furniture given by Mr. and Mrs. Sawin. These arti- 
cles were arranged in an attractive way which gave the rooms a 
very homelike appearance. The spinning wheel was placed at 
the right and the flax wheel at the left of the fireplace, which 
was flUed with logs laid on old-fashioned brass andirons. Other 
antique articles were in evidence, in old style mugs or vases, 
which held large clusters of yellow daffies. Mr. Sawin's ancient 
writing desk was given a prominent place in the collection. 

On tables, which had seen >ears of service, fruit punch and 
fancy crackers were served by Mrs. I. M. Packard and Misses 
Una" and Evalyn Bean, giving evidence of the hospitality which 
the Society extended to its guests. 

The Sawin Memorial Building was erected by the bequests of 
Benjamin Nelson Sawin and his wife, Sarah Eudora (Shumway) 
Sawin. 

Extracts from the will of Sarah Eudora Sawin, relating to 
the Dover Historical Society. 

Clause 14. To the Dover Historical Society all my antique 
ware and other property, at present stored in the attic. 

Clause 15. All the residue of my money and estate o 
every description to said Dover Historical Society provided it 
erects a building which is named -Sawin Memorial Building 
and the name to be placed on the front of said building in an 
attractive and enduring manner. r -i, .n 

Clause .^. U the said Dover Histor.ca Sooe ty fads to 
comply with the conditions in this and ,n my husband s w,l or 
for any other reason fails to accept the property '-"''o""' ^ 
Clause ,5, the said property shall revert to my hushand s estate 
as part of the residue thereof. 

37 



Extracts from the will of Benjamin Nelson Sawin relating to 
the Dover Historical Society. 

Clause 12. To the Museum of the Dover Historical Society 
my antique chair. 

Clause 13. All the residue of my personal property; and 
all of my real estate consisting of: — First, my homestead and 
farm described in my plan of the same made by surveyor Wight 
in 18S7, Second, a wood lot and meadow containing about 
two acres, situated on Claybrook road and known as the "Peat 
Meadow." Third, my triangular lot of land in said Dover and 
known as the "Grove lot," I devise and bequeath to the Dover 
Historical Society, provided it becomes a corporation, enabling 
it to own real estate, and provided also that the said Historical 
Society shall erect a building for its museum and library and 
shall name the said building the "Sawin Memorial Building," 
said name to be placed on the front of said building in an 
atttractive and enduring manner. If the Dover Historical 
Society fails to comply with the conditions above mentioned, 
within the two years of administration of my estate, all the 
property enumerated in Clause 13 shall become the property of 
the town of Dover to be held in trust for the purpose of assist- 
ing children of the worthy poor by the trustees of the Larrabee 
Fund. 

Clause 14. Should the said Historical Society accept the 
property above mentioned, I request that Eben Higgins, George 
E. Chickering and George L. Howe, all of Dover, shall be 
appointed a Building Committee to have the whole charge of 
locating, planning and constructing the said Memorial Building. 



38 



The Dover Historical and Natural History Society was organ- 
ized in 1S95 and incorporated September i, 1900. The object 
of the Society is to collect and preserve such relics and antiqui- 
ties, such facts and documents as will throw light upon our local 
history, either by gifts or loans, also to promote a knowledge of 
Natural History by the formation of a museum. All residents 
of Dover and vicinity, who are interested in its purposes are 
welcomed to its membership. All members are elected by bal- 
lot and are required to sign the Constitution of the Society. 

OFFICERS FOR 1908. 



FRANK SMITH, President. 

RICHARD H. BOND, Vice-President. 

MRS. SARAH A. HIGGINS, Secretary and Treasurer. 

MRS. LIZZIE A. CHICKERING, Librarian. 

MRS. E. A. WOTTON, 

MRS. LIZZIE A. CHICKERING. 



.1 



Curators. 



J. W. HIGGINS, 
MRS. ALMA S. PORTER, 
ALLEN F. SMITH, 
CHARLES S. BEAN, 



Directors. 



MEMBERS. 



Bond, Lillian VV. 
Bond, Richard H. 
Bean, Charles S. 
CHICKERING, Alma M. 
Chickering, James H. 
Chickering, Lizzie A. 
Chickering, Miriam B. 
Colburn, Emma E. 
Colburn, Martha E. 
Comiskey, Kittie 
co.miskey, m. w. 
Dandrow, E. K. 
Dandrow, Mary A. 
Dunn, Sarah E. 
Everett, Martha A. P 
Hale, Richard W. 



Wilsondale Street 

Wilsondale Street 

Strawberry Hill Street 

Centre Street 

Haven Street 

Haven Street 

Haven Street 

Farm Street 

Farm Street 

Main Street 

Main Street 

- Dedham Street 

- Dedham Street 
Springdale Avenue 

Farm Street 
Strawberry Hill Street 



39 



Hanchett, Rosella M. 
Heard, Elizabeth 
HiGGiNs, Amy H. 
HiGGiNS, Eben 

HiGGlNS, J. W. 

HiGGiNs, Sarah A. 
Hodgson, Caroline F. - 
Howe, Martha A. 
McGiLL, James 
MiNOT, Robert S. 
MiNOT, Abbie H. 
Packard, Hubbard C. - 
Packard, Inez M. 
Plympton, Charles W. 
Porter, Dr. W. T. 
Porter, Alma S. 
Smith, Allen F. 
Smith, Edeler D. 
Smith, Frank 
Smith, Mary W. 
Spear, Emma E. 
Thompson, Adelaide E. 
Thompson, George H. 
Tisdale, Ansel K. 
Tisdale, Caroline M. - 
Whiting, Bertha 
Williams, Ruth F. 
Winchenbach, Frank W. 
Woodward, Joshua L. - 
Woodward, Mary Alice 
WoTTON, Evora - 



1725 



Farm Sheet 
Pine Street 

- Dedham Street 

- Walpole Street 

- Dedham Street 

- Walpole Street 

Haven Street 

- Dedham Street 

Main Street 
Farm Street 
Farm Street 

- Strawberry Hill Street 

- Strawberry Hill Street 

Centre Street 

Farm Street 

Farm Street 

Centre Street 

Centie Street 

125 Court Street, Dedham 

Centre Street 

Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, Cal. 

- Dedham Street 

- Dedham Street 

Aliston 

Allston 

Pine Street 

Farm Street 

Wellesley 

Wilsondale Street 

Wilsondale Street 

Haven Street 



HONORARY MEMBERS. 



Chickering, Carrie E. 
Chickering, George E. - 
Chickering, Samuel G. 
Clarke, George K. 
Coombs, Isabel F. 
Coombs, John C. 
Hunt, Ward N. 
Smith, Louisa B. 
Sullivan, J. A. - 
Talbot, Asa 
Tisdale, Alfred B. 
Wight, Frederic H. 
Wight, S. Elizabeth - 
Johnson, Rev. Albion H. 
Johnson, Annie L. 
TiLDBN, William S. 



Jamaica Plain 

Haven Street 

Boston 

Need ham 

Needham 

Need li am 

Needham 

Sherborn 

Needham 

Farm Street 

Walpole 

Dedham Street 

Dedham Street 

Hyde Park 

Hyde Park 

Medfield 



40 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 077 441 8 



< 



-xDKHrcT Ul- UONURESS 



014 077 441 8 



< 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 077 441 8* 



HoUlnger 



